IOATHAM. - Son of Gedeon (Judg. 9:7-21,57). He was the only one who escaped the massacre of his brother Abimelech (v. , n. 2), who, after the death of their father, slaughtered all his brothers and had himself proclaimed king by the Shechemites. Having ascended Mount Gerizim, I. then addressed the citizens of Shechem with the parable of the trees choosing a king (Judg. 9:8-15).
It is the oldest example of a parable or fable in the Bible, and one of the most celebrated in all world literature, in four rhythmic strophes corresponding to the four trees proposed. By first having the most common fruit-bearing plants of Palestine speak (the olive tree, the fig tree, the vine), and then the thornbush under whose shade the trees finally seek protection, I. skillfully highlights the poor choice made by the Shechemites in entrusting themselves to a bloodthirsty king, whereas his father Gedeon (or Jerubbaal), though he had saved Israel from the Midianites, had constantly refused to accept the royal dignity offered to him. The parable is a reproach to the Shechemites, who, through their complicity with Abimelech, had shown ingratitude toward Gedeon’s family, so cruelly suppressed. I. then fled to flee the snares of his cruel brother and took refuge in Bera, never to appear again.
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IOATHAM. - King of Judah (ca. 737-733 B.C.). He was associated in the kingship by his father Ozias or Azariah, who was struck with leprosy for having improperly intruded into matters of worship (II Chron. 26:16 sq.). Sixteen years of reign are attributed to him (II Kings 15:33), of which ten were shared with his father and three or four alone. The victory over the Ammonites, mentioned in II Chron. 27:5 (cf. 26:7), probably belongs to the years of his co-regency. He was a zealous Yahwist king, but, like his predecessors, tolerated the superstitious rites practiced on the bamoth or high places, to which the people remained stubbornly attached (II Chron. 27:2).
He built the “upper gate of the Temple”; other constructions were made in the wall of Ophel (the metropolitan extension of the Temple hill). He also fortified several cities, building towers and strongholds (II Chron. 26:3 sq.; II Kings 15:35). During his reign, hostilities against the kingdom of Judah began on the part of the king of Syria, Rezin, PHARES (v.), king of Samaria; but the threat became more serious only in the years of his successor Ahaz (cf. II Kings 15:37; Is. 7:1).